THE AUTHOR HAS CLOSED THE OTHER PETITION THAT WAS LOCATED ABOVE THIS PETITION SO I HAVE REMOVED IT.

I am possibly the first animal rights activist in Croatia, in the modern sense of the word, who is still active. I was a catalyst in the formation of the Animal Friends Croatiaorganization: www.prijatelji-zivotinja.hr. If necessary, click "in English" in top-right corner. I put the website here and not under "Homepage" because I do not actually work at their office.

I lived in Australia from 1970 to 1992. Since I am against the white colonization of Australia and the Americas, I returned to my country of origin and encourage others to do the same.

Before I went vegetarian, my family and friends were totally against it. Therefore, I put all my effort into making money so that I could buy my own apartment. I always thought that I was better at making money and donations than at activism. I got more serious about activism in 1998 during a bad period on the Croatian stockmarket. Other activists were not very helpful. I am a member of many animal-rights organizations but also do a lot of activism on my own. I cannot donate as much as I would like because my mother demanded that I sell out of the stockmarket in 2003, stop paying rent, and buy an apartment so that she can visit me.

I am vegan since 1995 and, since 2002, I eat mostly food that does not involve killing the plant.

In 1990, before most plastics had recycling codes, I called the factories that produced the packages (and lids) and asked them what plastic they were made from, and then found factories that would take the plastics. (They had to be perfectly clean, with all traces of paper labels and glue removed, since they did not take post-consumer HDPE, PVC, LDPE and PP. I could not find a factory to take PS).

I now recycle over 99% (by mass) of my waste.

I have been a member of the Jane Goodall Institute (UK) and PETA (USA) since 1993. At that time, attitudes were very backward in Croatia, but things have come a long way for animals and the environment since then. Being backward actually helped in many ways due to lack of "development".

A ban on fur-farming in Croatia goes into effect in 2017. The "use" of dolphins in entertainment has been banned. No primates are used in experimentation. Even the leading brands of personal hygiene and cleaning products are not tested on animals. The growing of GMOs is banned. About 48% of Croatia is covered in natural and nature-identical forest. Human population growth is negative.

Planet earth belongs to all species. Australia belongs to Aboriginals and America belongs to Native Americans.

What Gives Me Hope

The increased acceptance of animal rights by the "mainstream".

If I were Mayor, I'd make the world a better place by

Making recycling compulsory. Stopping subsidies to animal killing industries and commercial fishing. Ending the clearing of natural areas. Returning self-determination to indigenous peoples. Enabling people of above-average intelligence to complete their education in fewer years. Giving people the right to refuse medical treatment and the right to die.

What/who changed my life and why

Jane Goodall. Studies of chimpanzees in the wild and their similarities to humans paved the way for my interest in animal rights. Since it involves Africa, it also made me think about the rights of other races and in returning to my origins.